Last Call...
As summer draws to a close I feel as if this week is in a way last call....
Hedley a band I note has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid has a song that pretty vividly depicts last call in both a bar and life in my mind.
About three weeks ago my current partner asked me out of the blue if I'd like to join her on her leave from the military to go see her family for two weeks or so in Ottawa to which I quickly agreed having been excited to spend some quality time with both her and her family while seeing a new part of the country.
So away we went, driving for nearly thirteen hours, with the most confusing and infuriating pit stop in Montreal to pick up a friend who had bargained to drive part of the way in exchange for a ride back to Ottawa... we met him in the literal BIGGEST mall I've ever been in.... to those of you who haven't been to the Rideau Centre in Montreal... brace yourselves if you're like me and hate crowds in small places it will send you into shock, at times I lost my breath and felt as if I was going to run out of air there were so many people and the mall itself is so big it's too easy to get lost,, (yea we lost the car for about 45 minutes due to the fact this mall supposedly has not one but FOUR parking lots)
So after all this was said and done we finally arrived to our final destination Ottawa, well sort of you see Ottawa is a MASSIVE place basically made up of a city part and a bunch of little outlying areas that are still considered part of it as a whole... where we've been staying is on the outskirts so about fifteen minutes or so from the core of the actual city, out in an area called Orleans, bordering Cumberland.
These little outskirt area names have been thrown around me a lot while I've been here, I'm starting to pick up on where a lot of them are just as I feel like my French has improved a bit since being here since I am surrounded by people who mostly speak it, including my partner's family who are all French first language.
Upon our arrival the only thing we really thought of was food and sleep, I had a minor panic attack that night from exhaustion as we had been up since 3am, with only three hours of sleep and had been driving since 4am that morning having arrived at her house at about 6pm at night we both passed out pretty hard.
The days following are all sort of a blur because I immediately forgot about Fredericton my home for the last number of years and quickly embraced my new surroundings, having walked through the Rideau Canal, around Parliament, the shopping malls the size of some small universities, getting lost while running (my fault for not being fast enough to follow), trying some life changing Gelato, going to a cinema the size of half of the mall back in Fredericton, a boat tour of the river with her parents(I note this was particularly fun as we had drinks on the deck and got to see Ottawa from the water), hanging out at the National Art Gallery as well as the National History museum (I will note this is interesting sort of because it's in Gatineau Quebec, a drive across the bridge from Ottawa) as well as checking out local sights like a random vinyard we found on a drive to her aunts while also bonding with a family I feel like I am becoming part of.
The last eleven days have been the adventure of a lifetime, or at least a great adventure for me as it was the first time I allowed myself to fully go outside of my comfort zone and put my fate in the hands of my partner, trusting for the first time in my life.
The sights I've seen and memories I've made here will be with me for a long time.
As I look around the small guest room we've called home for the last few days at her parents house I feel a wave of security and clam wash over me as this place truly has become a little piece of home to me.
Her parents the most welcoming, loving, accepting people I've ever met who greeted us with open arms and have welcomed me into their home... their kindness is something I will never be grateful enough for as this is something I have only ever rarely experienced.
This is the last call these next few days, the last call for summer drinks on the patio, late night tv binges with her parents (Quantico was fantastic, we were all so hooked and so into it, the thought of it alone brings a large smile to my face), little drives to farms and just making memories that'll last a lifetime with a family I feel as though I have become a part of.
The thing I love about last call however is when you look to Semisonic's hit Closing Time, 'every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end' thus meaning that endings are never truly endings, only new beginnings.
For me this means going home to Fredericton, with my love at my side as we embark on our new journey; myself with school starting in a few days and her going back to work.
This journey has made us stronger, it has cemented our relationship and molded it into something beautiful and everlasting in my mind as I know more now than ever that she is my one, and I hers.
Last call has come and it's time to continue on into a new and bright future.
One step at a time.
VKC
Note this post was dated August 29th 2016
Hedley a band I note has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid has a song that pretty vividly depicts last call in both a bar and life in my mind.
About three weeks ago my current partner asked me out of the blue if I'd like to join her on her leave from the military to go see her family for two weeks or so in Ottawa to which I quickly agreed having been excited to spend some quality time with both her and her family while seeing a new part of the country.
So away we went, driving for nearly thirteen hours, with the most confusing and infuriating pit stop in Montreal to pick up a friend who had bargained to drive part of the way in exchange for a ride back to Ottawa... we met him in the literal BIGGEST mall I've ever been in.... to those of you who haven't been to the Rideau Centre in Montreal... brace yourselves if you're like me and hate crowds in small places it will send you into shock, at times I lost my breath and felt as if I was going to run out of air there were so many people and the mall itself is so big it's too easy to get lost,, (yea we lost the car for about 45 minutes due to the fact this mall supposedly has not one but FOUR parking lots)
So after all this was said and done we finally arrived to our final destination Ottawa, well sort of you see Ottawa is a MASSIVE place basically made up of a city part and a bunch of little outlying areas that are still considered part of it as a whole... where we've been staying is on the outskirts so about fifteen minutes or so from the core of the actual city, out in an area called Orleans, bordering Cumberland.
These little outskirt area names have been thrown around me a lot while I've been here, I'm starting to pick up on where a lot of them are just as I feel like my French has improved a bit since being here since I am surrounded by people who mostly speak it, including my partner's family who are all French first language.
Upon our arrival the only thing we really thought of was food and sleep, I had a minor panic attack that night from exhaustion as we had been up since 3am, with only three hours of sleep and had been driving since 4am that morning having arrived at her house at about 6pm at night we both passed out pretty hard.
The days following are all sort of a blur because I immediately forgot about Fredericton my home for the last number of years and quickly embraced my new surroundings, having walked through the Rideau Canal, around Parliament, the shopping malls the size of some small universities, getting lost while running (my fault for not being fast enough to follow), trying some life changing Gelato, going to a cinema the size of half of the mall back in Fredericton, a boat tour of the river with her parents(I note this was particularly fun as we had drinks on the deck and got to see Ottawa from the water), hanging out at the National Art Gallery as well as the National History museum (I will note this is interesting sort of because it's in Gatineau Quebec, a drive across the bridge from Ottawa) as well as checking out local sights like a random vinyard we found on a drive to her aunts while also bonding with a family I feel like I am becoming part of.
The last eleven days have been the adventure of a lifetime, or at least a great adventure for me as it was the first time I allowed myself to fully go outside of my comfort zone and put my fate in the hands of my partner, trusting for the first time in my life.
The sights I've seen and memories I've made here will be with me for a long time.
As I look around the small guest room we've called home for the last few days at her parents house I feel a wave of security and clam wash over me as this place truly has become a little piece of home to me.
Her parents the most welcoming, loving, accepting people I've ever met who greeted us with open arms and have welcomed me into their home... their kindness is something I will never be grateful enough for as this is something I have only ever rarely experienced.
This is the last call these next few days, the last call for summer drinks on the patio, late night tv binges with her parents (Quantico was fantastic, we were all so hooked and so into it, the thought of it alone brings a large smile to my face), little drives to farms and just making memories that'll last a lifetime with a family I feel as though I have become a part of.
The thing I love about last call however is when you look to Semisonic's hit Closing Time, 'every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end' thus meaning that endings are never truly endings, only new beginnings.
For me this means going home to Fredericton, with my love at my side as we embark on our new journey; myself with school starting in a few days and her going back to work.
This journey has made us stronger, it has cemented our relationship and molded it into something beautiful and everlasting in my mind as I know more now than ever that she is my one, and I hers.
Last call has come and it's time to continue on into a new and bright future.
One step at a time.
VKC
Note this post was dated August 29th 2016
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